He's Free
by irishwerewolves
Summary: Martha Black is about to start her first year at Hogwarts School. This is her version of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. contains major spoils. DON'T READ IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE 3RD HARRY POTTER BOOK! please r r. rated T for safety
1. Sibling Rivalry

He's free…

**He's free…**

_Chapter 1: Sibling Rivalry_

10 year old Martha Black was sitting in her grandmother's lounge room, watching the news on an old television. Her grandmother (maternal, not paternal) was a muggle (non-magical person), while her maternal grandfather was a wizard. She knew that she was a witch, as were both her parents, Sirius and Natalie Black. Suddenly, her grandmother, Penny Talleo, looked up at the clock on the wall and changed the channel.

"Nan!" Martha complained. "I was watching that!"

"Don't watch rubbish like that, Martha!" Penny scolded, looking at the screen, in which the BBC news had just started. "And anyway, it's time for the news."

Martha groaned and sat back in her chair, wishing Natalie would hurry up at her job interview and pick her up from this living hell-hole. As much as she hated the news, she watched the screen, not listening to what the newsreader was saying, but watching the screen anyway, in case she saw anything that looked familiar. She was hoping there would be something on Sirius, as he had been sent to Azkaban Prison (the wizarding prison) for a crime he hadn't committed.

She'd been waiting for something for over ten minutes and was about to give up hope, when Penny suddenly groaned and reached for the remote, but stopped in her tracks. Martha sat forward suddenly, and tuned in to what the newsreader was saying.

"…Sirius Black, convicted mad mass murderer, has escaped from prison and is now on the loose." The newsreader said solemnly. "We have been told that Black is very dangerous and we urge you to report any sightings of this man immediately via this hotline on the screen now."

Penny groaned something that sounded like "I told her he was no good! I told her!" and Martha sighed. It was common knowledge that her grandmother hated Sirius and she obviously believed the newsreader. She had repeatedly told Martha the stories of when Natalie had brought Sirius home to ask her if she could marry him, at only seventeen.

_Penny had been shocked and told her she couldn't and apparently, she had run off in tears to Sirius' place. When she had returned, however, Penny had explained that Sirius was not a good person, and she would regret it if she married him, because he looked like the kind of man to get into trouble with the law. Natalie told her that Sirius was a good person and she'd known him since she was eleven and he would never do anything that was against the law._

"_He's three years older than you! How do you know what he's going to turn out like!?" Penny had said loudly._

"_He made the Unbreakable Vow! That's how I know!" Natalie had replied, but as soon as it had left her mouth, she had known it was the wrong thing to say._

"_And what is this 'Unbreakable Vow' thing? Is this something your kind has made up?"_

"_If the vow is broken, the person dies. It's done using magic to seal the soul for the rest of the person's life and if it is broken, they die. And Sirius is not the person to want to die." She'd said, tears in her eyes as she had left the house again, not returning home until over two years later, when she did, holding two babies in her arms and Penny had been glad to see Sirius wasn't with her._

"_I married Sirius, Mum, and this is our daughter, Martha. The other one is a result of a rape. She's my child, Georgia. And you're not going to tell her she's not Sirius' daughter. I want you to swear on that." Natalie had explained and Penny had looked down at the little girls._

"_Alright, I won't tell Georgia that she's not Sirius' daughter. But where is Sirius, if you've married him. Or did he decide he was going to break that so-called 'Unbreakable Vow'?"_

"_He's been sent to the wizarding prison, but he never broke the vow. He was wrongly convicted of a murder, but he would never have done anything to hurt me in any way. I already know that."_

"Martha? Are you ready to come home?" her mother's voice tore Martha away from her deep thoughts and she looked up, smiled and hugged Natalie.

"Mum. Dad's coming home." She whispered and Natalie pulled away from the hug, looking into Martha's eyes.

"He is?" she asked her softly. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. It was all over the news that he's escaped and I know that means he's coming home." She replied and Natalie sighed, smiling as she led Martha and Georgia out of the house.

When the three got home, they saw a large, jet-black dog sitting on the front step, waiting for something.

"Sirius." She whispered, hugging the dog, before unlocking the door and letting the others into the house. Once inside the house, the jet-black dog transformed back to a man and Martha and Georgia hugged him.

"Welcome back Dad!" Martha said, happy for the first time in weeks, since her baby brother, Anthony's death seven weeks ago. Anthony was only two months old, and he died from a wizarding disease called Hyperthermosis, which attacks your throat, heart and brain, eventually paralysing them and causing death to the casualty. Hyperthermosis has no cure, so Natalie, as Anthony's mother and a nurse, couldn't save him, no matter how hard she tried. Even just thinking about it now still brought tears to her eyes, and Sirius seemed to notice the tears, as he hugged her tighter, letting go of Georgia first.

"What's wrong Martha?" he whispered into her ear.

"Nothing." Martha replied, though she was now finding it hard to keep the tears from overflowing.

"Martha, it doesn't look like nothing. I can tell something's wrong. You can tell me, I'm your father, and you know it, so why won't you talk?" he said, looking into her tear-filled eyes.

"How can you tell, Dad?" she asked.

"I just can. It comes naturally with parenting; you're able to tell when your child's upset." He replied softly. "Tell me what's wrong."

"I was just … just …" she said, now unable to hold them back any longer, and they spilled out of her eyes and down her cheeks. "I was thinking … of – Anthony." She choked and there was sadness evident in Sirius' eyes.

"I know you're still obviously going through grief, and so are your father and I, Martha." Natalie said, hugging Martha and Sirius at the same time.

"Your mother's right Martha. Grief is quite natural, so there's nothing to be ashamed of if you're going through a state of grief." Sirius agreed, hugging his wife in return, Martha between them.

"And the best thing you can do if you're going through grief is to talk to someone about it. There's no easier way to get through it. I know it can be hard and painful to talk to someone about your grief, but it's even harder to go through grief not knowing there's someone you can talk to and trust to keep your secrets." Natalie whispered and Martha could hear Georgia laughing in the background.

"Haha, Martha's crying!" she laughed and Natalie let go of Sirius and Martha and rounded on her second-eldest daughter.

"Georgia, your sister is going through grief, so there's no reason to laugh at her about it." She said firmly.

"But it's fun to watch her crying." Georgia said happily.

"What about if I make you cry Georgia!?" Martha asked her half-sister angrily. "How would you like it!? Would you think its fun then?"

Georgia looked taken aback and lunged at Martha, catching her around the throat with her hand. She tightened her grip and Martha choked, losing her balance and falling backwards.

"Georgia!" Natalie cried, running over and trying to separate the sisters. Georgia looked at her mother and tightened her grip further on her sister's neck. "Sirius! Get over here and help!" she shouted at her husband and he ran over and grabbed hold of Georgia and attempted to pull her away, but she elbowed him in the centre of the chest and he fell back, gasping for breath. Natalie took one look at him, decided he was only winded and continued trying to separate her daughters. However, she didn't succeed in time to prevent Martha from losing consciousness.

Martha woke to find her mother bending over her and looking concerned. Her father was disciplining Georgia and Georgia was cowering at the sight of him so angry.

"Are you alright Martha?" Natalie asked her daughter softly.

"I-I think so." Martha replied, trying to sit up, but Natalie held her shoulders, preventing her from sitting up. Martha lay back down obediently, and a sudden pain erupted in her throat. Her hand flew to her throat and she coughed. Natalie looked at her and gasped, as Martha's coughs weren't normal dry or phlegmy coughs, and it was what was coming out of Martha's mouth that worried her. It was blood. Natalie gently picked Martha up into her arms and carried her quickly upstairs into her bedroom. The last thing Martha saw before she blacked out again was Natalie using her wand to try and find out why Martha was coughing up blood.

When Martha woke again, it was dark and the only lighting in the room was a small candle, which was fast running low. Natalie was sitting next to her bed, asleep, her head resting on Sirius' shoulder, the latter still sitting awake, his hand holding Martha's gently.

"Dad?" she asked timidly in a whisper, so as not to wake her mother.

"Are you alright Martha?" he whispered, squeezing her hand gently.

"What time is it?" she asked and Sirius looked at his watch.

"Quarter to one in the morning. You've been unconscious for six hours and forty-five minutes."

"Where's Georgia? Was she punished for strangling me?"

"Georgia's in bed asleep at the moment. And yes she did get punished. She was grounded for six months and she's not allowed out of your mother's, grandmother's or my sight during that time, alright? Your mother's going to be dropping her off at your maternal grandmother's place so she can stay there for the Hogwarts year."

"Alright." Martha said and Natalie opened one sleepy eye.

"Who are you talking to Sirius?" she asked softly.

"Our daughter." He replied and she lifted her head slightly and looked at Martha, before sitting up straight again.

"Are you alright Martha?" she asked, checking Martha's temperature by placing her wrist on her forehead.

"I'm okay, Mum." She replied and Sirius turned to his wife.

"Do you know what the cause of her coughing up blood was?" he asked her and she looked thoughtful for a second or two.

"It was the result of being badly strangled. Georgia's hands had applied the most pressure on the trachea and the carotid artery, causing the blood to build up in the brain and the chest, eventually bursting a small vein leading to her lungs, causing a pool of blood to build up in the heart and come up into the trachea, causing pain. The coughing was a result of the blood irritating the inside of her lungs." Natalie replied, addressing both Sirius and Martha. "So all I had to do was to get rid of the blood pooling in her lungs and heal the vein. If I hadn't, we would've lost another child." She added, tears beginning to appear in her eyes. Sirius sighed sadly and placed his arm around his wife's shoulders.

"I know it's hard to think that we could've lost our eldest daughter, but it's okay, she's still alive." He said softly and Natalie nodded, trying to blink back the tears.

"I know, but there was still the risk of losing her. There was that risk ever since Georgia had started strangling her."


	2. Aboard the Hogwarts Express

Chapter 2: Aboard the Hogwarts Express

_Chapter 2: Aboard the Hogwarts Express_

Time seemed to have sped up until Martha was to start at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Although she was nervous, she was also quite looking forward to getting there and starting her magical education.

It wasn't long before the start of term that a letter was sent to Natalie, saying she had got the job as the first-ever teacher of Medical Education.

"Congratulations Natalie, the first Medical Ed. teacher ever! Now that's got to be an achievement." Sirius said enthusiastically, hugging Natalie, who was still looking rather bemused at actually getting the job.

"Well Mum, it looks as though you'll be spending the year with me then, won't you?" Martha added, laughing.

Soon after that, Martha and her parents had decided it was time to get the books she would need for her coming year at Hogwarts. Sirius transformed into his dog form and Natalie fastened his collar and leash, along with the leash of their family dog, a Labrador named Snuffles; before dropping Georgia off at Penny's place and taking Martha to a small wizarding alleyway called Diagon Alley. There, Natalie and Sirius, with Snuffles still with them, led Martha to the end of the alley, in which they found a large white building, with the words _Gringotts Bank_ stamped across in golden letters.

After the family had withdrawn some money, they entered several shops to get a whole range of books, potion ingredients, scales, a cauldron, and a wand. Eventually Natalie led Martha into a shop called _Magical Menagerie_. She tied Sirius and Snuffles up outside the shop and led Martha in.

"What pet would you like for the Hogwarts year, Martha?" Natalie asked her daughter and Martha looked around the shop thoughtfully.

"Ummm…do you mind if I get a pet…bat?" Martha asked her mother and she looked at the list of pets students were allowed to get, saw that they were allowed bats as well and nodded.

Once they got back home, Sirius transformed back to his human self and helped Martha put her things away.

"I still need a name for my bat." Martha said once all her books and clothes were in her trunk for school.

"Ummm…well, let's see it then." Sirius said.

"It's a _her_, Dad. The bat is female." She laughed, gently taking the bat out of her cage and cupping her in her hands.

"Alright, get off your high hippogriff, Martha. I didn't know." He laughed, looking closely at the little bat Martha was holding. "God, she's teensy." He breathed. "I'd have to wear glasses to be able to see her! How about you call her Tiny?" he suggested and Martha laughed.

"Actually, considering her size, I'll agree that she is a miniature thing. Okay, Tiny is a good name." she said, placing Tiny back into her cage and hugging Sirius. "Thanks Dad." She whispered.

Martha farewelled her parents on Platform 9 ¾, which was the platform where she caught the Hogwarts Express. She carried her trunk and Tiny's cage on board the train and found a compartment, placing the cage gently on the seat and hauling her trunk into the luggage rack, above the seats. It wasn't long before she was joined by another girl with blonde hair that reached just below her shoulders and green eyes.

"Ummm…excuse me, but is it alright you if I join you? It's just, everywhere else is full." The girl said timidly and Martha nodded slowly.

"That's fine with me. Are you new?" she said.

"Yeah. What about you?" the girl said, placing her things into the luggage rack and sitting down, placing her mouse cage on the seat next to her.

"Same here. My name's Martha Black by the way. What's yours?"

"My name is Lannastar Potter." She said and Martha's jaw dropped.

"You're one of the Potters?" she breathed.

"Yeah. But I'm not the daughter of James and Lily Potter. They were my aunt and uncle. James' younger brother, Jason, is my father. And he's still alive."

"Oh. But who's your mother?" she asked.

"Her name's Learra." Lannastar said softly.

"But Harry obviously went to Lily's sister's place. Why didn't he go live with you and your parents?"

"Lily was disapproving of my parents. And Dumbledore agreed, so he sent him to live with the Dursleys. You know; Harry's muggle relatives?"

"I know." Martha said, just as another two girls walked into the compartment. Martha had just realised the train had already left the station, and they were now speeding past farmland, covering the land like patchwork.

"Hi, my name's Adelyne Marlo, and I hope you don't mind if Dora, here, and I join your compartment?"

"We don't mind, Adelyne." Lannastar said, before Martha could open her mouth.

"Thanks." Adelyne and Dora said in unison. Adelyne had medium-brown hair that reached past her shoulders and green-grey eyes, and she wore glasses. Dora, on the other hand, had long, black hair that reached down to her elbows and dark brown eyes.

"Hey Dora, what's your surname?" Martha asked Dora kindly.

"Snape." Dora replied shyly. "What're your names?"

"I'm Martha Black, Sirius Black's daughter." Martha replied and even Lannastar looked shocked.

"You are, Martha?" she whispered, before regaining herself again and looking towards Adelyne and Dora. "Anyway, I'm Lannastar Potter, niece of James and Lily Potter."

"Well, that means you two are also daughters or relatives of Marauders." Adelyne said. "My father is Marcus Marlo. Another member of the Marauders."

"_That's_ where I recognise your surname from!" Martha said, clicking her fingers. "I _knew_ you must've been his daughter, considering not many other people have the surname Marlo."

"Good point, Martha."

"You girls are lucky. None of my relatives were members of the Marauders."

"Oh well, that doesn't matter Dora. The main thing now is thinking of a name for our group." Lannastar said.

"Well, one thing most of us have in common is that we're descendents of the Marauders. Even if Lanna isn't directly descended." Adelyne said, looking thoughtful.

"But we need to think of one thing we've _all_ got in common, we don't want to leave anyone out." Martha said earnestly.

"Well, I'm a prankster." Dora said softly.

"So am I, come to think of it." Lannastar added in.

"Same here." Martha said.

"Me four." Adelyne said and it suddenly dawned upon the group.

"And I _love_ canines." Martha added, grinning.

"So do I." Adelyne said.

"Me three." Dora added.

"I _like_ dogs, but I don't absolutely love them." Lannastar said.

"Well, at least we all like dogs." Martha said. "Now adding those three into our name…"

"The marauders were all pranksters, we're all pranksters, most of us are descended from the marauders, and we all like dogs…"

"Why don't we call ourselves the Canine…?"

"And we _are_ all girls, so we can call ourselves the Canine Maraudesses, Maraudesses being the female version of the Marauders." Lannastar suggested and everyone agreed enthusiastically.

They were barely halfway to Hogwarts, and night had just fallen, when the train stopped suddenly.

"What's going on!?" Dora exclaimed, sounding panicked.

"Dunno. But it's obviously not going to be good." Adelyne whispered, as Tiny started flying around her cage, squawking madly with fright. Lannastar's mouse was hiding, Dora's owl was hooting with fright and Adelyne's cat was meowing loudly in its basket. Suddenly the lights all went out and everyone sat still, the fear growing inside them. Then everything went deathly cold and a dark shape appeared in the window of the girls' compartment door and they all looked at it in silence. Even their pets were silent with fear.

Then the door suddenly opened and all the girls screamed. In the doorway was a tall, cloaked creature that sucked in the air around it with a rattling sound.

"A-a Dementor." Adelyne said softly and Martha remembered her father being sent onto the train with her. She remembered seeing him walk past her compartment in dog form towards the front of the train.

"I know who can help!" she said as the Dementor approached.

"Who, Martha?" Lannastar asked her friend softly.

"Wait here, use your wands to repel it if you have to, but I'll be right back. I've just got to run quickly." She said and her friends all nodded, taking out their wands as she ran out of the compartment and into the corridor of the train, running towards the front.

Martha found her father sitting in human form in an empty compartment and she ran up to him and hugged him.

"What's wrong Martha?" he asked her, startled.

"Dad, a Dementor just entered our compartment and none of my friends and I have any idea how to get rid of it." She said and Sirius stood up, transformed and ran after Martha.

They entered the compartment again and the Dementor began approaching Martha, it's scabbed, rotten hands reaching out towards her.

"Oh no you don't!" a voice yelled and Sirius appeared out of nowhere and pointed his wand at the Dementor. A silvery-white dog appeared from his wand and charged at the Dementor, and it fled. Martha collapsed into the seat, and Sirius appeared at her side.

When Martha awoke, the floor was once again vibrating and the lights were back on. The train was once again on the move. Sirius was still sitting by her side and her friends were all looking unsure of what to make of his sudden appearance.

"Are you alright Martha?" Sirius asked her softly.

"I-I'm fine, Dad." Martha said, before realising her friends were still with them. "Oh yeah…Dad, this is Adelyne Marlo, Dora Snape and Lannastar Potter. They're all starting at Hogwarts too."

"Hello all, Adelyne, I know your father, and Dora I also know yours, but he and I didn't like each other very much. And Lannastar, I remember taking you out of the destroyed home and back to your parents after you were kidnapped by Pettigrew. I went for Harry after his parents' deaths, but Hagrid was also there. He told me he had orders from Dumbledore and I had no choice but to agree. So I gave him my bike." Sirius said as Martha sat up.

"I also know you're my godfather if anything happens to Mum or Dad." Lannastar said and Sirius nodded.

"That I am. But anyway, you four should get into your robes. We'll be there soon, I expect." He said, transforming into his dog form and left the compartment.


	3. Hogwarts School

Chapter 3: Hogwarts School

_Chapter 3: Hogwarts School_

They reached the station ten minutes later and walked out onto the platform and towards a large man calling all first years to him. Martha and her new friends followed him and they soon approached a large lake which the giant man had explained was called the Black Lake. They saw several small boats bobbing up and down on the surface like buoys.

"No more'n three or four to a boat." The giant man called as the students clambered into the boats and they set off, the giant man in a boat to himself.

They reached the castle's dark outline and gleaming windows positioned in tall turrets and along all the walls of the school. Approaching the school, they passed a huge forest which the giant man, whose name Martha soon found out was Hagrid, explained was called the Dark Forest and it definitely gave off an eerie air which made Martha and her new friends feel a bit apprehensive about coming to the school.

Finally they approached the huge oak front doors and Hagrid knocked three times before the door was opened by a tall, thin woman with her long black hair tied back in a tight bun.

"I'll take it from here Hagrid." She said.

_Judging from her voice, I'm not sure she would be the one to cross on a bad day._ Martha thought and her friends nodded when she voiced this thought to them quietly.

"I agree, Martha." Lannastar whispered in agreement.

"Same here." Dora replied.

"Me three." Adelyne replied as all the first year students all followed this new teacher into the school.

"Welcome to Hogwarts." The teacher said to them all. "My name is Professor McGonagall and I am the deputy headmistress here in the school as well as your Transfiguration teacher. Now, in a moment you will pass through these doors and join your classmates. But before you can take your seats, you must be sorted into your houses. The houses are as follows: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. And you should also know that whilst you are here, your house will be like your family. Your triumphs will earn you points, while any rule-breaking will lose you points. Now wait here while I let the headmaster know of your arrival." McGonagall said as she walked off through a pair of doors and into the noisy room beyond.

While she was gone, talk erupted among the first years like an active volcano.

Eventually McGonagall returned and led the students into the noisy room beyond the double doors, into the Great Hall. All the noise stopped all of a sudden as the new students entered the Hall and Martha felt every eye on her as she passed the students and approached the Teacher's Table at the front of the room. Looking upwards, Martha saw, not a normal ceiling, but the sky outside. A black and starry sky with a slight drizzle of rain. It was as if the ceiling opened up to the heavens above.


	4. The Hogwarts Sorting

Chapter 4: The Hogwarts Sorting

_Chapter 4: The Hogwarts Sorting_

The students suddenly stopped in front of the Teacher's Table and McGonagall was now unrolling a scroll whilst standing next to a stool on which a very old, patched and extremely dirty hat stood.

"Now when I call your name, I want you to come up, sit on the stool and put the Sorting Hat on your head and you will be sorted into your houses." McGonagall explained to all the nervous first-years. "Black, Martha." She called and Martha nervously walked up and sat on the stool, placing the Hat on her head.

"Hmmm…a dark past…however a smart student…some slight mischief wanting to happen…how about…RAVENCLAW!" the Sorting Hat, which up until then had been whispering in her ear, suddenly shouted out so the whole school could hear. Martha stood up, took the Hat off her head and headed over to the table which had erupted with cheers.

"Brown, Daniel." Was next, being sorted into Ravenclaw as well.

"Celt, Henrietta." McGonagall called and a short, stumpy girl walked up to the stool and the Hat had barely touched her head before:

"SLYTHERIN!" the Sorting Hat called out and the table to the far left suddenly exploded with cheers as Henrietta Celt approached it, grinning broadly.

"Elthen, Richard." McGonagall called and a boy approached the stool nervously, placing the Hat on his head.

"HUFFLEPUFF!" the Hat shouted out and Richard half walked, half ran towards the table second to the right, which had exploded with cheers.

"Ethene, Dean." McGonagall called out and Dean Ethene walked nervously towards the stool and the Sorting Hat had only been on his head before it shouted:

"RAVENCLAW!"

Dean ran towards the table second to the left, the one Martha was at and sat down next to her.

"Hey." He said, his face slightly red.

"Hia." Martha replied kindly, blushing slightly as they looked at each other.

"Geth, Rebekah." was next, being sorted into Gryffindor, and after a few more students were sorted, McGonagall called out,

"Marlo, Adelyne." and Adelyne walked towards the stool. The Hat took a few moments before it called out,

"RAVENCLAW!" Adelyne walked towards the Ravenclaw table and sat next to Martha.

"Hey Martha!" Adelyne said, sounding excited.

"Heya Adelyne." Martha said, looking briefly at her friend before looking back at the brown-haired Dean.

"Nuttlemock, Adrian." McGonagall called out and a boy with shoulder-length light brown hair approached the stool, being sorted into Ravenclaw.

"Potter, Lannastar." Lannastar nervously approached the stool and they all waited about five whole minutes before the Hat finally shouted:

"RAVENCLAW!" and Lannastar ran to the Ravenclaw table, sitting next to Adelyne.

"Snape, Dora."

"RAVENCLAW!" Dora ran to the Ravenclaw table and sat next to Lannastar, grinning at her friends.

Finally the sorting finished with "Wilkinson, Christine." being sorted into Ravenclaw.


	5. New Love

Chapter 5: New Love

_Chapter 5: New Love_

It was two weeks since Martha and her friends had started at Hogwarts and they were busy with classes and homework to worry about much else. But Martha found herself looking with longing at Dean whenever she passed him, and she knew he was also looking at her with the same kind of longing in his eyes. She knew her parents wouldn't mind her having friends, but a boyfriend was a different story. Both her and Dean were friends, but she was also longing for his love in return. But there was a problem with that. She didn't know anything about love, so she decided to talk to her parents about it.

"Mum, Dad, there's something I want to talk to you about." She said after approaching her parents that Saturday and sitting in her mother's office.

"What is it Martha?" Sirius asked her softly.

"I want to know about love." She said and both Sirius and Natalie looked surprised.

"I didn't think you'd ask about that at only eleven, Martha, but I guess if you want to know, we can't stop the curiosity." Sirius said and Natalie shot him a glare.

"Alright Martha, love is a very complicated emotion. Sometimes we think we're in love, when we're just infatuated with that person." Natalie explained.

"What's infatuation?" Martha asked, slowly becoming more curious.

"Infatuation is sometimes also called 'Temporary Love', and the reason why is because you fall desperately in love with a person, but it never lasts long. It's usually only from the person's looks, and not their personality, their most important feature. If its love at first sight, its most likely infatuation, but if you gradually fall in love, and it's the personality that you like, then it could be counted as true love. Alright?" Sirius said and Martha nodded.

"Okay, so how can you tell when you're in love?" Martha asked.

"Before we answer that Martha, what's with the sudden need to know? Do you have feelings for someone?" Sirius asked her and ducked only just in time to avoid a tap across the top of the head from Natalie.

"Sirius, that's her privacy." She said. "Martha, you don't have to answer that if you don't want to." She said softly, turning to Martha.

"That's fine, Mum. And Dad, there is someone. His name is Dean, and I can't help looking at him and wishing I was in his arms." Martha said, blushing.

"Okay. That's all I wanted to know. And there's no need to be embarrassed about saying that Martha; love is a natural emotion. Now, to answer your question, what your feeling at the moment whenever you look at him, is one way to tell, but only if it eventually grows into wanting, not only to be in his arms, but also wanting to kiss him. That's one way; another is when you feel your heart racing whenever you're in his presence. But that varies with people. Some people's hands will sweat and they'll find that they stutter whenever they're talking to the person, and others will only want to be with them forever. Some will even go as far as to actually kiss the person whenever they're in their presence, but I suggest you don't go that far. I suggest you tell him verbally how you feel." Sirius explained.

"But why do some people actually kiss the person they like, if they don't even know if they like them in return?" Martha asked, puzzled.

"Because they find it's the easiest way to find out whether the person has the same feelings for them. If they pull away from the kiss, they don't like them, but if they go with it, they like them. It's not a very good way to find out if the person's in love with them, because they might already have someone else, but some people seem to think it's the easiest way to find out." Natalie replied. "But if you really feel you love Dean, I suggest you ask yourself whether it's the personality or the looks that you like."

"It's the personality." Martha said.

"Alright, are you friends with him at the moment?" Sirius asked her.

"Yes. I was also wondering if you'll allow me to have a boyfriend, though."

"We'll have to talk to him first. Because we're not sure if he's going to treat you in the way that we'd prefer if the both of you are that desperate for a relationship." Sirius said seriously.

"Okay. Do you want me to let him know how I feel before I bring him to you, or do you want me to bring him before I let him know how I feel towards him?" Martha asked.

"Tell him how you feel first, that way, if he feels the same way to you, you can bring him to talk to us, because there's no point bringing him to us to talk about how he'll treat you if he doesn't have the same feelings towards you." Natalie said and they could hear Sirius laughing softly in the background. "And just between you and me, Martha, I'm glad some things don't change – your father's maturity levels for instance." She added, and both of them laughed. Sirius stopped laughing and looked at them with a strange expression on his face, but Natalie and Martha only laughed harder on seeing this.

"Seriously, what are you two laughing so hard about?" he asked them, his hands on his hips, but Natalie and Martha laughed harder still at that. "Alright, will you two please stop laughing and let me know what you're laughing at?"

"First of all, your maturity level, secondly, the expression at us laughing, and thirdly, the fact that you weren't able to figure out why we were laughing." Natalie said, still laughing.

"Okay, before I die from laughter, I'd better go talk to Dean, and see how he feels." Martha said, her laughing ceasing to a giggle as she walked out of the room.

She approached Dean the next day and asked if she could talk to him in private. He agreed and followed her into a deserted classroom.

"Dean, I … I'm in l-love with …" she began nervously, blushing.

"Martha, I love you too." Dean said and she smiled, as they drew closer together. Martha knew they were going to end up kissing, but she didn't know whether she wanted to kiss him or not. Eventually, he kissed her and she was surprised at first, but she decided to go with the flow. They stood there for ten minutes, kissing, Dean with his hand on her waist, until Martha remembered that she was supposed to take him to her parents so they could talk to him. Wishing it could've lasted forever, she broke the bond and instead, he hugged her tenderly.

"Dean, I need to take you to my parents so they can talk to you and make sure you'll treat me right." She said and he kissed her briefly, before following her out of the classroom and towards the Hospital Wing, where Natalie's office was located.

"Before I go in to talk to your parents, may I ask who they are?" Dean asked her softly.

"My mum is Professor Talleo, and my dad is – I don't want you to panic – but my dad is Sirius Black." She said in an undertone. Dean stopped in his tracks.

"Wait, Sirius Black is in the castle?" he asked her so no one else could hear.

"Yeah, he has been since school started, but he's not a murderer. He's innocent. Please believe me Dean." She said softly to him, regretting that she'd mentioned that she was the daughter of a convicted mad mass murderer.

"I believe you, Martha." Dean said after a slight pause.

"Thank you Dean." She whispered and he kissed her again before they continued on their way.

When they reached Martha's parents, she walked into Natalie's office with Dean and her parents looked at him, then at Martha. Sirius was smiling slightly in a way that told her that good news was probably going to come to her, and at the same time, he was nodding slightly and Martha knew he was pleased with what he saw. Natalie, however, was looking at him with a puzzled expression on her face; however it appeared that she, too, was pleased with what she saw.

"Mum, Dad, this is Dean." Martha said nervously. "And Dean, these are my parents."

"Dean, if it's alright with you, we would like to have a bit of a talk with you concerning Martha." Natalie said kindly to him, motioning for him to take a seat.

"Martha, if you want, you're allowed to stay with him while we talk to him." Sirius said to her and she grinned at him and sat down next to Dean.

Eventually, Martha's parents had stopped questioning Dean about how he would treat Martha and started talking to each other about whether or not Martha would be allowed to be in a relationship with him.

"Dean, Martha, we've come to a decision. We've decided to allow you to have a relationship, on one condition." Sirius said seriously.

"What's the condition, Dad?" Martha asked her father curiously.

"Martha, your father and I both know that it's natural to want to experiment, but I suggest that if you feel you two want to experiment with each other in bed, I suggest the word _protection_ is remembered and put into action. If you fall pregnant Martha, your father and I will have no choice but to forbid you from seeing him any more. Do you understand that, guys?" Natalie said seriously. Martha and Dean looked at each other and blushed slightly, nodding.

"Well, I guess that's about it." Sirius said and Martha and Dean stood up. "You may go now, guys."

Martha and Dean thanked Sirius and Natalie and walked out, before breaking into a run towards the Ravenclaw common room. When they got there, they saw Dora kissing a boy. They were the only ones in the common room, with everyone else making the most of the sunshine before the snow began falling. Martha recognised the boy Dora was kissing as Daniel Brown, from the sorting.

"Dora?" Martha asked, looking quickly at Dean. Dora and Daniel broke apart and blushed when they saw Martha and Dean standing there.

"You're in love? With Daniel?" Dean asked her, looking at his best friend. Dora sighed deeply and nodded slowly.

"Yeah, I hope it's alright with you. Sorry Dean, I know he's your friend." She said.

"That's fine, we're just surprised. Nothing more. Hey, Dean and I are in love, so what do we care?" Martha said and Dora and Daniel looked relieved, before their heads snapped up as what Martha had said sunk in.

"You are?" Daniel asked, looking surprised.

"Yeah." Dean said, laughing at Daniel's expression. He didn't seem at all embarrassed to admit it.

"Well, then I can see why it's not a problem." Dora said, and she and Daniel walked to the armchair in front of the fireplace, sat down on it and started kissing again, their arms wrapped around each other. Dean and Martha looked at each other, grinned and walked to the furthest corner and Dean pulled Martha into a tender hug, before kissing her.

"Why don't we go up to the girls' dormitories?" Martha suggested, pulling away from the kiss. Dean agreed and the two of them walked up to the girl's dormitories, and walked in, sitting on Martha's bed, before starting to kiss again. Eventually, Dean stopped kissing her lips and went to the neck, unbuttoning to top button of her shirt. She gasped, before remembering what her mother said.

"Dean, we shouldn't …" she whispered, pulling away.

"Why not, Martha?" he asked her.

"Remember what my mum said? About not experimenting in bed without protection. I know she meant sexually, and we're almost about to do that." She said.

"She said without protection." Dean said, shrugging.

"Dean, she meant protection as in a condom or something along those lines. Something to stop me getting pregnant." She said.

"Alright, but I know my dad has some condoms, so I could always take some during the Christmas holidays." He said, kissing her.

"Does that mean you're going home for Christmas?" Martha asked, pouting.

"Unfortunately it does. My parents told me I was to come home during the Christmas holidays so I can have Christmas with my family. If you want I can ask them if it's alright if you're allowed to come over for Christmas." He said.

"Awesome. I'll just have to ask my parents." Martha said softly, kissing him again, just as the dormitory door opened and Adelyne walked in with a boy who had gumleaf green eyes and dark brown hair. They stopped in their tracks when they saw Martha and Dean.

"Who's he, Martha?" she asked her.

"My boyfriend, Dean. Who's that?" Martha replied.

"This is my boyfriend, Eric. He's a second year." Adelyne replied, and Martha noticed Eric had his arm around Adelyne's waist.


	6. A New Friend

Chapter 6: A New Friend

_Chapter 6: A New Friend_

Martha and Dean were now very close, and were in their Transfiguration class, with their teacher, Professor McGonagall. They started off simply, by learning to transfigure a pin into a hedgehog. McGonagall split them off into groups of three. Martha ended up with Adelyne and another Ravenclaw girl who looked almost identical to Adelyne.

"Hi, I'm Christine." The girl said, being friendly. "Christine Wilkinson. What are your names?" she asked, looking at Martha and Adelyne.

"I'm Adelyne Marlo." Adelyne said softly.

"And I'm Martha Black." Martha added.

"Pleased to meet you both. Adelyne, is your dad Marcus Marlo, by any chance?" Christine Wilkinson asked Adelyne.

"Yeah. Why?"

"Because my father was also a member of the Marauders. William Wilkinson is his name."

"Really? Awesome. My father is also a member of the Marauders." Martha piped up, starting to get excited.

"Cool! What's his name, Martha?" Christine asked her, also beginning to get excited.

"His name is Sirius Black." Martha said in a whisper.

"So awesome!" Christine said, now practically bouncing on the balls of her feet. "I've always wanted to meet him! Do you think you could introduce me to him sometime, Martha?" Christine asked her in a softer voice.

"You're not going to try and steal him from my mum are you?" Martha asked in a whisper, laughing softly. Christine and Adelyne started laughing too.

"No, I just want to meet him. Ever since I'd heard he'd escaped from Azkaban, I'd wanted to talk to him, to ask him how and why he did it. It's always been an impossible feat, until he managed it." Christine replied softly, still laughing.

"Alright, but don't expect him to want to talk about it very readily."

"It's alright, I won't. I'll still ask though, just in case."

"Okay, suit yourself." Martha laughed, as McGonagall came around to check on the students. "But I think we'd better get started." She said, pointing this out to Adelyne and Christine.

"Good point Martha." Adelyne said, taking out her wand and tapping the pin with her wand. "_Fervartum_!" she said and the pin transformed instantly into a hedgehog, however it's spines still had the eyes you found on sewing needles. "Oops." She said softly.

"I'll have a go now, if you don't mind girls." Christine said, also taking out her wand. "_Fervartum_!" she said, tapping the needle, and it instantly transformed into a hedgehog, which didn't have any impurities. It looked identical to a real life hedgehog.

"Very good, Miss Wilkinson." They heard a voice say from behind Martha. Looking up, they saw McGonagall standing there, looking at the hedgehog. "Now you try, Miss Black." She said and Martha took out her wand.

"_Fervartum_!" Martha said and her needle seemed to hesitate for a moment before turning with a pop into a hedgehog.

"Could do with some improvements, but pretty good, all the same." She said and Martha looked worried as McGonagall walked away.

"What's wrong, Martha?" Christine asked her, looking mildly concerned.

"Nothing, I was just worried about Dad, and whether anyone was going to catch him. He seems to escape from Mum quite a lot." Martha replied.

"Who is your mum?" Christine asked, looking curious.

"Professor Talleo." Martha replied.

"So Sirius is in the castle?"

"Well duh!" she said sarcastically. "I thought he was still on the streets! Of course he is."

"Okay Martha, hold your hippogriffs!" Christine said, looking worried that someone would overhear their conversation.


	7. Surprise Search

Chapter 6: Surprise Search

_Chapter 6: Surprise Search_

Martha and her friends were all on their way to their last class, the most popular class in the school, Defence Against the Dark Arts. This was their third Defence class of the year and the five were thoroughly enjoying it, so much so that they always sat at the front of the classroom during lessons.

This lesson, they were studying merpeople and their teacher, Professor Remus Lupin had promised a practical lesson, and Martha always looked forward to practical lessons. She and her friends took their places at the front of the classroom and the class only had to wait another couple of minutes before Remus came into the classroom.

"Alright class, I'm going to call the roll before we go out into the grounds." He said, taking a roll of parchment from his briefcase and laying it on the desk, before taking out a quill and ink bottle and calling names out one by one.

Once all the names were called out, he led the class out of the castle and towards the Black Lake, where he stopped and told the class to sit on the grass.

"Okay, now who remembers from last lesson, what merpeople cannot go near?" Remus asked the class. Martha's hand shot up. "Yes Martha?"

"Well, merpeople are allergic to the touch of cotton as it gives them a disease that is deadly to them called Hives. And on top of that, merpeople are unable to stay in air for more than ten minutes, otherwise they will suffocate to death. And they are also unable to go within ten feet of bronze and aluminium." Martha replied.

"Very good Martha. Ten points for Ravenclaw. Now, what are people to be wary about when in a merperson's presence?" he asked. This time, it was Adelyne's hand which shot into the air. "Yes Adelyne?" Remus said.

"We people need to be wary that merpeople could be evil, no matter how good they look. There have been reported deaths from the hands of merpeople in the last decade." She replied.

"Well done Adelyne. Another ten points to Ravenclaw."

The rest of the lesson was spent by going for a swim in the lake and trying to find a merperson, because they were told they were hard to find. Once Martha surfaced, she was asked what she found.

"A lot of seaweed, a merman, a green kind of octopus creature, but that's about it." Martha said, swimming back to shore. Remus handed her a blanket and explained that the green octopus creature she'd found was a grindylow. She nodded, just as Dean surfaced, holding Dora, but she looked unconscious. On Dora's other side, also supporting her, was Daniel. Martha got to her feet and ran with Remus to the bank of the lake and helped them get Dora back onto dry land. Martha looked at her, before remembering what her mother had taught her when she was nine. She checked her friend's pulse, found a light one, before checking her breathing. Dora wasn't breathing, so Martha lay her on her side, opening her mouth and pressed on the centre of her chest. She coughed and opened her eyes.

"Professor Lupin, could I please have a towel to wrap around Dora?" Martha asked and Remus handed her a towel, looking at her open-mouthed. Martha helped Dora into a sitting position and placed the towel around her shoulders. At that moment, most of the rest of the class surfaced, all talking excitedly.

"Professor, we saw some!" one boy yelled as he waded to shore.

"Well done, Richard. You all did well." Remus replied, handing towels out to the rest of the class. "Okay, we're still missing two people." He said, counting the heads of his class. Martha looked around and noticed that the two people that were missing were Lannastar and Christine.

"I'll go get them." She said and Adelyne stepped forward.

"I'll go with you." She said firmly and Remus hesitated before agreeing. The two girls ran into the lake and swam under the surface, swimming deeper and deeper until they noticed Christine's leg and swam towards it. They saw that she was tangled in a bed of seaweed and used their wands to cut her out of it, before Adelyne swam back to the surface with her, soon returning alone. The two continued swimming when they saw a couple of grindylows holding onto Lannastar. Looking briefly at each other, they nodded and shot spells at the grindylows, which swam off and they supported Lannastar to the surface. Surfacing, they carried her ashore and lay her on her side. Martha pressed on the centre of her chest, causing her to cough and helping her into a sitting position, she placed a towel around her shoulders. She did the same to Christine and took the three girls who'd almost drowned up to the Hospital Wing. Natalie asked her what had happened when they staggered into the ward, dripping and exhausted. In reply, Martha, Adelyne, Dora, Christine and Lannastar all dropped onto the bed.

"Three of us almost drowned in the Black Lake and two of us are exhausted from trying to save them." Martha said. Natalie and the matron, Madam Pomfrey, both walked over to them and made sure they were warm before insisting they stay overnight for assessment. Christine looked shocked at that. She whispered something to both of them and they told her she could go get ready. Christine said goodnight to her friends before leaving the Hospital Wing. Martha and her remaining friends all looked at each other, puzzled. After assessment, Natalie decided they were alright to go and released them. They went up to their dormitory and had just got into bed when their Head of House, Professor Flitwick entered the common room and called for everyone to get out of bed and go to the Great Hall. Martha got out of bed along with her friends and they all looked at each other as they entered the common room.

"What's going on?" she asked Flitwick sleepily.

"Sirius Black has been sighted in the castle by the fat lady portrait." He replied and Martha suddenly went pale. "And you're all to sleep in the Great Hall, while a search of the school is conducted." He added, addressing the rest of the house. All the Ravenclaws followed their Head of House into the Great Hall and instead of the long tables, there were several purple sleeping bags lined up. their headmaster, Dumbledore, was standing in the centre of the Great Hall and when the Hufflepuffs arrived with the Slytherins, he welcomed them all and apologised for having to get them out of bed.

"… I apologise sincerely for the short notice about this, but Sirius Black has been sighted in the castle. We will have teachers conducting searches of the whole school and hopefully tomorrow night, you will all be able to move back into your dormitories." He said gravely.

"That means that Dad must've gone out of Mum's sight tonight when she was looking after us in the Hospital Wing and gone searching for Pettigrew." Martha whispered to her friends, her face incredibly pale. "I'm going to pretend I'm sick and go to the Hospital Wing. That way, I'll be able to see if Dad's gone back there." She added to her friends in a whisper.

"Why don't you pretend to collapse? That way, Dumbledore'll believe you." Dora whispered.

"Good idea. Dean, please don't panic, this is just an act so I'm able to go to the Hospital Wing." Martha assured him, hugging him. "I'm feeling fine; I'm just worried about Dad."

Dean nodded, kissed her briefly before releasing her and she fell to the ground. Dora and Adelyne screamed, pretending their friend really was in a bad state. Martha's eyes open the tiniest amount so she could see, she saw all the students crowding around and three Gryffindors walked forward, sneering.

"Don't worry, she's just a Ravenclaw." One of them said. He was tall and gangly with bright red hair and freckles. His friends, Harry Potter, and a girl with long bushy Brown hair, laughed, sending the students back.

"Good point, Ron." Harry commented, clapping the red-haired boy on the back. The boy named Ron laughed, before several teachers came forward, telling them to go back to the Gryffindors. The trio scowled as they retreated and McGonagall knelt next to Martha.

"What happened?" she asked the others.

"We don't know, one minute she was looking pale and saying she had a bad headache, then she just collapsed." Lannastar said tearfully.

"She does look rather pale." McGonagall said. "Okay, I'll let Professor Flitwick know that she's in the Hospital Wing. I suggest you take her up and explain what happened. What's her name?" McGonagall asked.

"Martha!" came a shout as Natalie knelt next to her daughter. "What happened, girls?" she asked the others urgently.

"I don't know, one minute she was pale and complaining of a headache, then she just collapsed. I don't know how it happened." Adelyne wailed and Natalie placed her hand on her shoulder.

"She'll be alright, but I suggest you come with me up to Hospital Wing." She said. "Thank you Minerva. I'll take it from here." She added, picking Martha up into her arms and carrying her out of the Great Hall, where she put Martha down, and Martha, knowing her cover had been blown, stood up, brushing herself down. "Come with me girls." She said sternly. Martha and her friends followed Natalie in silence, knowing they were probably in trouble.

Once in the Hospital Wing, Natalie led the Maraudesses into her office, where Martha saw Sirius sitting on the bed.

"Dad!" she exclaimed, running up to him and hugging him.

"Alright, what was with the trick, girls?" Natalie asked them sternly, her hands on her hips. Martha looked down at her feet and began talking.

"Well, when Professor Flitwick came into our common room and told us that Dad had been sighted in the castle, I did go pale, but I was worried that he would be caught and given to the Dementors at the gates to the school. I wanted to see him to make sure he was well hidden, so I pretended I'd collapsed and told the others to cover for me. They did well until you checked me over and said you would take me up here." She said, grinning guiltily.

"Sirius, why did you move from here, and get yourself seen?" Natalie asked, turning to Sirius.

"Sorry Natalie, I got news that Pettigrew was around so I snuck out to try and find him to get him back for what he'd done to us." He replied, looking guilty.

"Thank you so much Sirius." Natalie said. "Now we'll have all the teachers of the school searching for you."

Sirius looked up, sighed, looked at his knees again.

"Sorry again Natalie." He said guiltily.

"Don't worry about it Sirius, I was just worried they would catch you, just don't do it again, okay?" she said to him, sitting down next to him.

"Okay Natalie. I won't." he said.


	8. Questions

Chapter 7: Questions

_Chapter 8: Questions_

Christine returned the next morning, except she was not in the best state. She limped up to the Hospital Wing, Remus supporting her. Natalie walked out of her office at the same time as Madam Pomfrey, saw them and sat them down on a bed.

"Don't you think you should tell your friends about this, Christine?" Remus asked her softly.

"Tell us about what?" Martha asked, sitting up. She'd been awake as they'd entered and now she was curious as to what was happening to Christine.

"I just got too close to the Whomping Willow, that's all." Christine said. Martha shivered. The Whomping Willow was an extremely violent tree that flailed its branches whenever someone got too close. The branches were like clubs and they could easily knock an adult man senseless. The twigs were just as dangerous. They could quite easily poke someone's eye out. They were sharp and could also break the skin of a person. The thought that Christine had got too close to the Willow gave Martha a feeling of dread. Natalie was now whispering something to Remus, Christine and Madam Pomfrey. Martha tried to tune her ears to hear what they were saying, but it was too quiet and she couldn't hear what was being said. The three of them were nodding slowly. Eventually, they finished talking and Natalie walked into her office, where Martha knew Sirius was. Remus nodded at them and walked out of the Hospital Wing, while Christine walked over to Martha and the other Maraudesses, who were sitting up in bed, looking curious and concerned at the same time.

"What happened, Christine?" Lannastar asked her, eyeing the cuts and scratches covering her friend's arms and face and neck.

"Don't worry about me; I just got a bit too close to the Whomping Willow on my way back up from the Shr – err … school gates." She said and Adelyne and Dora looked at each other curiously, before looking back up at their friend.

"Then if you got too close to the Whomping Willow, how did Professor Lupin find you? I'd have though you'd have been knocked out." Dora asked her.

"He was taking a walk in the grounds and he saw me and helped me up to the school." She replied.

"I did actually notice you limping, Christine. What happened to your leg?" Martha asked.

"Well, the smaller branches got me hard enough in the leg, that they broke the skin and broke my leg at the same time. In fact, they were clumped together so much that they caused a deep wound to the leg." She said, lifting up her trouser leg and showing her friends the bandages covering the wound.

"But then why weren't my mum and Madam Pomfrey able to heal it magically?" Martha asked her.

"They decided to allow it to heal naturally. Madam Pomfrey said it was better for the wound if it was allowed to heal naturally." Christine replied and Martha nodded, defeated.

"Girls, I suggest you five go down to breakfast now." Natalie said, walking over to the group. "Because you still have to go to classes today."

The five girls nodded, standing up and walking out of the ward and down the stairs and into the Great Hall, which was slowly filling up with students. They took their places at the table, and Dean hugged Martha.

"Are you alright Martha?" he asked her and she laughed.

"Duh! Remember Dean, I only did it to make sure my father was alright." She said softly to him, just as a boy in his second year walked over to Christine, asking her if she was okay after last night.

"Mitchel, of course I'm okay. Professor Lupin looked after me until I got to the Hospital Wing." She replied and he sat next to her, both of them looking into each other's eyes.

"Ummm…Christine?" Martha asked her friend timidly. Christine blinked and looked up at her. "May I ask who he is?" she asked, motioning to the brown-haired boy sitting on Christine's left.

"He … well … okay, this is Mitchel Jones, my boyfriend. But you see, he and I have only been going out for a week and my parents don't know yet." She said nervously, looking over her shoulder, her eyes flicking around the room constantly as though afraid her parents would appear in the room at any minute.

"Christine, I really recommend you tell your parents about him. I mean, if you tell them the truth, they'll be more likely to allow you to go out with him, and then you'll also have a clear conscience on top of that." Martha replied, but Christine gave a frightened look at Mitchel and then the doors. She seemed to be acting rather suspicious to Martha and she couldn't help wondering if there was something Christine wasn't being exactly truthful about.

"Christine, the girls and I need to talk to you after breakfast. I know we'll end up running late for class, but we really need to talk to you. Bring Mitchel too." Martha said to her in an undertone.

"Okay." Christine replied slowly, looking puzzled.


	9. Confessions

_Chapter 9: Confessions_

Once breakfast was finished, Christine took Mitchel by the arm and followed her friends silently out of the Great Hall and into a deserted classroom on the fourth floor, one floor above the classroom they were meant to be in. Martha closed the door after her friends and magically locked it, sound-proofing the room.

"How did you learn to do that, Martha?" Lannastar asked her friend in awe.

"My parents." Was all Martha said in reply and Lannastar seemed to understand immediately.

"What did you need to talk to us about Martha?" Christine asked her friend softly.

"Christine, when you told me that your parents didn't know you were dating Mitchel, I got the impression you weren't telling us something. Now that we're in private, I want you to know, that whatever it is you're not telling us, you are allowed to. Adelyne, Dora and Lannastar will agree with me on this: we're your friends, and we trust you, but we need you to trust us with your secrets. What aren't you telling us and why? We need to know if we're going to help you through it. We promise we won't tell anyone about it, and we're not going to contradict you or laugh at you, no matter what the problem is. Recite the Maraudesses vow." Martha replied and all Maraudesses placed their right hand over their hearts.

"_We will never laugh or contradict if anyone has done something. We will only listen and offer advice where necessary. We will never talk over someone when they are telling us their problems and we will always trust other members. We will never shun people away and we will always try to be as friendly to our fellow students as possible. We will NEVER tell other Maraudesses lies._" They chorused and Christine sighed.

"Alright. I'll tell you. Admittedly, I'd broken one part of the vow. I lied about my parents not knowing about Mitchel and me. But what I'm really worried about is that I know that I'm pregnant with his baby and I don't think my parents will be happy if I suddenly come home for the summer with a baby in my arms." She said and everyone in the room looked at her in shocked silence.

"Wait, Christine. You're telling us that you're having my baby?" Mitchel asked her in surprise. Christine looked first at him, then at her feet, nodding.

"Yes. But Mum and Dad may want me to abort the baby, and I don't want to do that." She choked, tears streaming down her face, which was hidden in her hands, her shoulders shaking with sobs. She fell to her knees and all her friends and Mitchel crowded around her, Mitchel pulling her into a hug.

"Christine, I don't think your parents would force you to abort, because they'll know the attachment a mother has with her baby. Even an unborn baby. And I know that from experience." Said a voice and Martha wheeled around, seeing her mother behind her. Natalie walked over to the distraught girl and knelt next to her, placing her hand on her shoulder. Christine looked up and saw Natalie there and hugged her suddenly, her tears falling on her chest, soaking her robes. Natalie looked surprised for a moment before she gently patted the girl's back.

"But what I suggest is that you tell them about this. Because regardless of their reaction, at the end of the day, they're still your parents and they have a right to know about your pregnancy." She said softly to her. Christine looked up at her and nodded.

"O-okay." She choked, her breathing heavy.

"And Christine, we don't hate you for lying to us because you told us the truth in the end; and we only want to help you get through this, and offer advice to you. We're here to listen to and help you. We don't want to contradict you, and we won't, even if it is something really bad. Okay, maybe we would a little bit if it was as bad as you killing someone, but you didn't so we're not going to contradict you." Adelyne said softly to her friend and she looked up at all her friends and gave a watery smile.

"Thanks guys." She said, standing up and beginning to walk out of the room. The others followed and together they walked into the Transfiguration classroom. McGonagall was already in there and they were about to be told off for being late, but Natalie walked in at that moment and whispered something to her and she nodded and allowed the students to take their seats.


	10. Unfortunate Events

_Chapter 10: Unfortunate Events_

Martha and her friends were in their Defence Against the Dark Arts class, when their teacher, Professor Lupin, looked out of the window, sighed and continued with the lesson, but Martha could see worry lines on his young face that hadn't been there before.

"Why do you think he's so worried?" Martha whispered to her friends.

"I don't know, but the moon looks full from here. I'm going to see." Adelyne replied, nodding towards the window, in which the moon was slowly becoming visible.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Adelyne." Christine said to her friend softly. "It'll just lead you into danger."

"I'm still going to see. Just a look, so we know what's wrong." Adelyne persisted.

"Adelyne, I can't let you do that, it's just not safe. Believe me; it really isn't safe for you to go out there on your own. Don't do it." Christine said. Adelyne sighed, shaking her head.

"No matter what you say, I am going to at least _look_. Nothing more." She said.

"You'll just end up getting yourself into trouble. Please don't do this, Adelyne." Christine pleaded with her friend softly.

Unfortunately, Christine's pleading didn't work, and Adelyne disappeared from the castle as she followed Professor Lupin that night.

Although Martha and her friends were worried, Christine offering to go with her halfway calmed them down slightly and they were able to get some sleep.

At least until a scream pierced the air, followed by a tearing sound. The remaining Maraudesses sat up straight and ran out of the Ravenclaw common room, out of the castle and into the grounds.

"Adelyne!? Christine!? Where are you!?" Martha called out, beginning to panic, her heart racing hard against her ribs. Suddenly, she heard a howl.

"Werewolves!" she heard Dora whisper, and she knew her friend was right; she didn't have to use her ears, either, because she could see them. There were heaps of them and they were surrounding them, snarling and snapping their jaws. Martha and her friends took out their wands and pointed them at the werewolves.

"One sec. _Lumos_." She whispered and her wand tip lit up instantly, illuminating the area within two metres around her. Then she saw something on the ground that made her stomach turn and her heart to beat slowly and fully. The thing she saw on the ground was a human figure, but Martha wasn't able to tell if the figure was Adelyne or Christine.

"Watch my back, girls. I think I found one of them." Martha whispered to her friends, who formed a circle around her and the unconscious girl. Turning her over, Martha saw it wasn't Christine at all. It was Adelyne, but she had cuts and scratches all over her face and neck, and her t-shirt was torn badly, revealing a large wound to her chest, where her heart was located. The werewolves had gone for the heart, but had been interrupted. But what yanked Martha's heart even more was that both of Adelyne's arms were held at funny angles, as was her head. Martha did what her mother had taught her and began checking her neck for any signs of broken vertebra. She suddenly stopped, tears entering her eyes as she felt the roughness of a broken spine. She knew there was no hope of saving her friend now; she'd been killed wanting to see what Professor Lupin was looking so worried about in that one Defence lesson. Suddenly, however, a large black dog came bounding out of the oak front doors of the castle and started attacking the werewolves. Martha instantly recognised this dog as Sirius, whom she hadn't seen for two weeks. Sirius managed to send the werewolves running into the Black Forest and ran over to her, transforming back to a human as he did so.

"Martha?" he asked her, kneeling next to her. "Is she okay, Martha?" he asked, indicating Adelyne. Martha shook her head, hugging him suddenly, tears soaking his shirt. "Take her up to your mother; she's awake and is rather worried about you and all of your friends." He said, standing up, picking Adelyne up gently as he did so. Martha followed suit, and all of her friends followed the two Blacks back into the castle.

Entering the Hospital Wing, Martha saw Natalie standing in the doorway of her office, looking worried.

"What happened, Martha?" she asked Martha, walking over to them, taking Adelyne from Sirius and laying her gently on the bed. "I want the whole story." She added, looking seriously at Martha, as she took out her wand and began healing all the broken bones.

"Mum, there's no point in healing her. She's dead." Martha said, but she noticed a small smile appear on Natalie's face.

"That's where you're wrong, Martha." She said. "Adelyne is still alive."

"But her neck was broken. You taught me that a broken neck kills instantly."

"It actually depends on the type of break. If the vertebra is broken, with no damage to the spinal cord, the person is still able to live life normally, but if the cartilage between the vertebrae is broken, the spinal cord will snap with it, and the person will instantly die. This break was only the vertebra, and her spinal cord remained undamaged. So Adelyne is still alive." Natalie explained, and by the time she'd finished, she was cleaning and dressing Adelyne's wounds. "But I still want a full recount of what happened from what caused her to go out there and why you went out there completely unprotected on the night of a full moon."

Martha sighed and began her story.

"Okay, well, it all started when we were in Defence Against the Dark Arts, and I noticed that Professor Lupin looked out the window and sighed, before turning back to the class, looking worried. I asked the other girls why they thought he was looking so worried, and Adelyne said she wanted to go see, because it was a full moon, but Christine started telling her not to, but she persisted and eventually Christine agreed to go halfway with her, but told her that they'd go back after halfway, but they only got a quarter of the way when they were ambushed by werewolves. Lannastar, Dora and I were asleep but were woken shortly after falling asleep by a scream and a tearing sound. We ran out into the grounds with our wands and were suddenly surrounded by werewolves, but only after I'd called out to Adelyne and Christine, asking where they were. Then I noticed Adelyne, but at the time I wasn't able to figure out whether it was Adelyne or Christine. She was face-down on the ground, and I turned her over, realising she had a large wound to her chest where her heart is and her head and both arms held at funny angles, so I did what you taught me and felt for any signs of a broken vertebra. I could feel one and then Dad suddenly appeared in the grounds and he chased the werewolves off, before instructing me to bring her up here to you." She finished and Natalie smiled slightly.

"Well you're lucky you and all your friends are all uninjured. Well, except Adelyne, that is." She said softly to her daughter, bandaging Adelyne's wounds.

"Lucky that Dad appeared, you mean. Because none of us would've survived if he hadn't appeared."

"Martha, he didn't realise you were in danger, but I thought you may have done something like that. Because apparently Madam Pomfrey saw you leaving the castle with your friends completely unprotected, so she told me and I woke your father and sent him down to get you, knowing tonight is a full moon." She said and Martha looked at her friends briefly.

"Thanks Mum, you saved our lives." Martha said softly.

Suddenly, Dean ran in, realising where Martha was and ran up to her.

"Dean, aren't you meant to be in bed?" Natalie asked him.

"I know, but I can't help it, this is urgent." He said, hugging Martha briefly.

"What's so urgent, Dean?" Martha asked him.

"Professor Talleo, Professor Dumbledore wants to warn you that there are some teachers who know that Sirius is in the castle and want to get him to the Dementors as fast as possible." He said, looking at her, a sorry expression on his face.

"_What_!?" Natalie exclaimed, shocked. "They know he's in the castle? But how?"

"Don't ask me. I didn't tell anyone about it. Someone must've let slip." He said.

"But no one I know of who knows he's here, are ever likely to betray him. At least I think they won't." Martha said, looking confused and worried.

"Apparently they seem to know he's staying here in the Hospital Wing." Dean said softly.

"That means we have to hide him. But will animagus form work?" Natalie asked him softly. "Do you know?"

"No. Apparently they know his animagi form and how to recognise him. And from what I was told, they're likely to keep surveillance over the whole castle." He replied solemnly. "It seems the only way to hide him successfully is to get him into the Forbidden Forest. Or have him under some kind of Disillusionment Charm to stop them finding him easily. I was told to warn you that they're planning on sending out some teachers to come here to catch him unawares. They'll be coming tonight."

"But they don't have any proof!" Martha said desperately. "They can't do this without proof!"

"Shhhh…they're coming now! Quick, hide him!" Dora whispered, peeking out the door. Natalie grabbed Sirius by the arm and dragged him into her office, motioning for the others to follow. Martha and her friends followed Natalie and Sirius into Natalie's office, and she told Martha and her friends to stand there, and told Sirius to get into his dog form and get under the bed in the corner. He did that, and Natalie whispered that she would pretend that they'd been caught out of bed and got into trouble.

"This is the fifth time this term that you four have been caught out of bed by me…I have no idea how many times other teachers have caught you, but this has gone far enough." She said sternly, just as several teachers walked into the room. "Oh, hello. Can I help you?" she asked them, looking up, her face now curious.

_Gee, she's an incredible actor._ Martha thought to herself, as she and her friends tried to look downhearted about what had happened.

"Yes, we've received information that Sirius Black is hiding somewhere in the Hospital Wing, and we just want to make sure that he isn't anywhere here." Professor Flitwick, a tiny wizard, and also the Charms teacher, said to her, looking around the room.

"Why would you think I'm hiding him here, Filius?" Natalie asked him, sounding and looking shocked. "Although I may have the surname Black, it doesn't mean I'm hiding him anywhere. Surely you don't believe that _I'd_ go around hiding Black in my office, do you?"

"Not at all. We were just making sure. But if you happen to see him anywhere, Natalie, we would greatly appreciate it if you could let either myself or Severus know. We'll check back again in a couple of weeks." Flitwick replied, bowing to her as he and the other teachers left the room.

"Go check that they've gone, please Dora." Natalie whispered to Dora, who crept to the door and looked out into the ward.

"They're gone…I think. They're not interrogating Madam Pomfrey, because she's in the ward looking after Adelyne." She replied.

"Okay. Thank you Dora. Sirius, I think it's safe for you to come out now." She said, and the large black dog came crawling out from under the bed. He changed back to his human form, thanking them.

"You're welcome, Dad." Martha whispered, hugging him. "Actually, Mum," she said, turning to her mother, an idea coming into her head. "I just had a brainwave…how about if Dad stays in my dormitory during the day, and stays with you in the night. That way I'm able to keep an eye on him and he won't be seen by anyone." She suggested.

"Good idea, except that it would be too dangerous for him to be wandering around the castle. If he's to stay with you in the day, he's staying with you in the night, if that's okay with you." Natalie replied.

"That's fine with me, but he'll have to stay under my bed or in the common room when anyone in the dormitory is getting changed so he doesn't see anything." She said.

"But what about when you're in classes?" Madam Pomfrey asked walking in and looking curiously at Martha. Everyone jumped and looked first at her, and then at Sirius, who was a dog within a second. "Don't worry Sirius," she said, laughing. "I already know you're there. And I know you're innocent of your convictions, so you don't need to hide when I'm around."

Sirius looked relieved as he changed back to a man.

"Now, as I was saying, what is he going to do when you're all in classes? Your mother is going to be teaching a class of her own, and I'm busy, so what is he going to do then?"

"Ummm … I hadn't actually thought of that. What _is_ he going to do when we're in classes?" Martha said, looking confused.

"Well, if I made an animagi form for myself as a Chihuahua or something small, I could hide in your bag." Sirius said, shrugging.

"Yeah, but what about the issue of your breathing?" Natalie asked him. "You still need to breathe, you know."

"I know. Oxygen mask?" he said, shrugging.

"_What_!?" Natalie exclaimed, looking at her husband incredulously.

"Well, it was just a suggestion." He said, cringing away from his wife, and everyone laughed, even Natalie.

"No, seriously, what are we going to do with you, Sirius?" Natalie asked him, sighing deeply.

"I don't know. Well I guess I could make an animagi form of a corgi or Chihuahua or something along those lines." He said.

"And what are you going to do when Martha's in classes?" Madam Pomfrey asked him.

"I don't know!" he said. "I give up, everyone's telling me off for any ideas I have. I may as well just let them catch me." He said, throwing his arms up in submission.

"No you won't Sirius." Natalie said sternly.

"Well, what else am I supposed to do?" he asked.

"What do you mean, Dad?" Martha asked her father softly.

"Martha, I'm the only one thinking of ideas, everyone else is just contradicting my ideas." He replied.

"Sirius, everyone else is trying to help you, but if you won't accept their help then there's no point in trying." Natalie said softly to her husband, looking into his eyes.


	11. A Decision is Made

_Chapter 11: A Decision is made_

Martha, Dora, Lannastar, Dean, Madam Pomfrey and Sirius and Natalie had been trying to make a decision concerning what happened to Sirius during the rest of the Hogwarts year, until 3:00 in the morning, when they'd finally made a decision.

"How about he stays with me, in an animagi form of a Welsh corgi and he stays in my bag or on my bed. That way the teachers or students won't be able to recognise him as who he really is." Martha suggested.

"I'm happy with that, but Martha, if that happens, he is your responsibility for the rest of the year, okay?" Natalie said. "And Sirius, you are to stay with her for the rest of the year, okay? You are not to leave her side and please act like her pet, and not her father, for god's sake." She added, turning to Sirius.

"Okay. I promise I will." He said.

"Then it's settled. Sirius, hurry up and create the corgi as another animagi form for you." Natalie said.

"I'd better go and check on Adelyne." Madam Pomfrey said, walking out of Natalie's office and into the ward. Sirius took out his wand and before long, there was a small male black Welsh corgi standing where he used to be. He changed back to a man, looked around at the students and took a bow. Martha and the others laughed and Natalie shook her head slowly.

"Okay Sirius, enough showing off. Now it's time to get down to business. Change back into your corgi form and Martha; you carry him back up to your dormitory." Natalie said and Martha nodded. "I'll look after Adelyne and I'll see you all at breakfast."

Sirius transformed back into the little black corgi and Martha picked him up and she and her remaining friends walked back to the Ravenclaw common room, Dean going into the boys' dormitory and the girls into the girls' dormitory, Martha placing Sirius on the bed and getting in.

"Now be good, Dad." She whispered to the dog, which inclined his head.

The next morning, she walked down to breakfast with her friends, Sirius in her bag. As she walked into the Great Hall, however, she felt Sirius squirm in her bag.

"Ssshhh…quiet. We don't want everyone to know you're in there." She whispered to the bag. Sirius stopped squirming as Martha and her friends found a seat at the Ravenclaw table.

During classes, Martha kept Sirius quiet with something he could eat that she'd saved from breakfast. It managed to keep him quiet until she got to her Defence Against the Dark Arts class, and Professor Lupin entered the room.

"Okay class, over the next three weeks, we'll be studying Dementors. Now, I'm sure you're all familiar with what they can be like, as you'll probably remember the time on the train, but this is different to that time. Whilst studying this topic, you'll learn why Dementors are so dangerous, and how they hunt and feed, along with what they feed on. You'll also learn how they reproduce, so I'd hope that you'll all pay attention during this topic, as we'll be having a test on Dementors at the end of the three weeks. Okay, so to start off – Miss Black, what _is_ the matter?" he said, his hands on his hips as the class turned to look at Martha.

"Sorry Professor, but do you think I could please see Madam Pomfrey for a moment?" Martha asked him softly, going red in the face. Professor Lupin sighed and allowed her to leave the classroom.

Once out of the classroom, Martha ran into a deserted classroom and put her bag on the ground. Opening it, Sirius jumped out and transformed back, magically locking the room.

"What were you thinking, Dad?" she asked her father exasperatedly.

"Sorry Martha, but…" he said softly, sighing. "But when I was at school, Remus was my best friend, and trying to sit still while he's teaching you, and not knowing I'm there and innocent, well, it's almost impossible."

"Well, if you can't do that, then I'll have to leave you either in the dormitory or with Mum. But I can't leave you with Mum because she's got classes to teach, as well. And I don't think you'd like being stuck in the dormitory all day, would you?" Martha said. "I'm trying to be reasonable by allowing you to stay with me in my bag while I'm in classes, but I really need you to stay still."

"You know, you're really starting to sound like your mother. But admittedly, no, I wouldn't like being stuck in the _girls'_ dormitory all day." He said, laughing.

"Then behave yourself, regardless of whether Remus is teaching me or not. I really need you to stay still in my bag when I'm in classes, or you'll be caught and handed to the Dementors. I don't really want that, so just behave." She said, sighing and opening her bag. Sirius magically unlocked the door and transformed back to a corgi, jumping into Martha's arms. Martha put him into her bag, closed it and returned to class. Sitting down next to her friends, Martha placed the bag on the floor and got back to work.

"What did I miss out on, Christine?" she asked her friend softly.

"Nothing much, only why Dementors are so dangerous." Christine replied. "Why did you have to leave class?"

"I'll tell you afterwards. After class, wait for me and I'll show you. It's too hard to explain."

After class, Martha beckoned her friends to follow her into a deserted classroom.

"Why did you have to leave class, Martha?" Christine asked her again.

"This is the reason." Martha replied, opening her bag and Sirius jumped out in his corgi form. Transforming back, he nodded at the girls, before sitting on the desk.

"Martha, it might be a smart idea if you magically locked the door. Do you remember how to do that?" he asked her. Martha thought and nodded her head slowly, looking into his eyes. He sighed, standing up, obviously knowing what she meant instantly. "Let this be a lesson to all of you girls." He said and they all nodded, Christine looking positively excited.

"Are you going to be acting our teacher, Mr. Black?" she asked him politely and he jumped slightly, obviously not used to being spoken to politely.

"Um … sort of. Take out your wands, girls. I may as well act your teacher for now." He said and everyone obeyed. He walked over to Martha and instructed everyone to raise their wands. "Now, I'm assuming you all know how to use Alohamora to unlock doors, am I right?" he asked the girls and they nodded.

"Professor Flitwick recently taught us in Charms." Lannastar replied and he nodded slightly.

"Okay, well … locking doors magically is not much different. All it requires is to know the incantation and it's pretty straightforward from there. The wand movement is the same as Alohamora, and the incantation isn't hard to remember. Without your wands, I want you to repeat the incantation after me – Martha, will you _please_ lock the door?" he asked her sternly.

"I did, you were just too busy concentrating to notice." She said and he looked apologetic.

"Sorry. Okay the incantation is _Totalitarius Lockus_. Could you all please repeat that?" he said.

"_Totalitarius Lockus_!" the girls chorused as Martha sat on the desk.

"Very good. Now here's some unlocked doors to practice on-" he magically produced four doors in the middle of the room. "-and I want you to remember the wand movement for Alohamora. It's the same here." He said and the girls did as they were told. "Martha, the other door is for you. I want to make sure you completely remember how to do it." He added and Martha sighed, hopping off the desk and pulling out her wand.

"_Totalitarius Lockus_." She said and the lock of her door clicked and it was obvious she'd locked it. "There, happy now, Dad?" she asked him and he laughed.

"That's much more comforting than just going by your word." He said. "You all did well, girls. I think you deserve some of this –" he said, magically producing five bottles of drink. "Butterbeer. it works wonders, believe me. Very warming on a cold winters' day." He said, giving one to each of the girls.

"Thank you Sirius." They chorused, except Martha, who smiled at her father.

"Thanks Dad. By the way Dad, Christine would like to talk to you. She's been dying to talk to you for over a month now, and this is the only opportunity she's had." Martha said and Christine nervously came forward.

"Sirius, I've been dying to know this but…how _did_ you escape from Azkaban?" she asked him.

"Actually, I think we're all a bit curious about that, Dad." Martha said truthfully and Sirius sighed, sitting on the desk.

"Alright, I don't really know what kept me from insanity –" he began before:

"Nothing kept him from insanity. He's been insane since he was born." Martha muttered under her breath and moved quickly away as he glared at her.

"Be quiet Martha. As I was saying, I can't really be sure what kept me from insanity…I guess it was just the knowledge that I was innocent and the thoughts of my family that kept me sane. I'd received an issue of the _Daily Prophet_ from Fudge shortly after that when he came on an inspection and on the front page, I saw Peter Pettigrew in his rat form on Ron Weasley's shoulder. The passage following the photo told me he was going to be coming to Hogwarts with the Weasley boy. That gave me an incentive to escape, and I waited a day or two and one day when the Dementors came into my cell carrying food, I transformed into a dog and fled. I was thin enough to slip through the bars and escape. Now, Dementors can't see, as I'm sure you know, but they can sense emotion, they feed on happiness. I wasn't happy so they couldn't take the emotions from me. They were confused because my emotions are less complicated when I'm a dog. Of course, they assumed I was just going mad like everyone else in there. From Azkaban, I swam back to the mainland and made my way home and managed it just before the 20th of February this year. And I had a wand bought for me by Professor Talleo, as you all call her." Sirius finished and the girls were all looking at him open-mouthed, obviously having forgotten about their butterbeers. "Now you know the whole story." He added and Lannastar was the first to speak.

"So – so you escaped Azkaban to get Pettigrew back for what he did and to be with your family?" she asked him and he nodded at her.

"That's exactly why I escaped. But although I managed it, it all happened so fast at the time, that I hardly have any idea of how it happened." He said softly. "Anyway, you four had better get to lunch or you'll miss it and you'll be late for class." He added, standing up and magically getting rid of the four doors and transforming into a corgi. Martha picked him up and placed him in her bag and walked out of the room, magically unlocking it first.


	12. A Christmas with the Ethenes

_Chapter 12: A Christmas with the Ethenes_

Three weeks later, the Christmas holidays had started and Martha had spoken to her parents about spending Christmas with Dean's family. Natalie had told her she would talk to them about it, and they'd organised that she could go to the Ethene household with Dean and spend the Christmas there, before coming back for the start of the next term. She met Dean in the common room on the morning of Christmas Eve.

"Good morning Dean!" she said excitedly, running up to him and kissing him.

"Good morning Martha. Are you ready to go? The train's not going to wait forever, you know." He said and Martha nodded enthusiastically, following him to the front doors. Together they walked to Hogsmeade station and boarded the Hogwarts Express. They sat together in a compartment near the front of the train, Martha in his arms.

When the train pulled into Kings Cross Station that evening, Martha and Dean met his parents. Mr. and Mrs. Ethene looked a lot like their son, except that Mr. Ethene was rather large around the waist and Mrs. Ethene was slightly shorter than him.

"Hello Mum, Dad." Dean greeted his parents, hugging them each in turn. "This is my girlfriend, Martha." He added, introducing Martha.

"Pleased to meet you Martha. We're happy to have you over for Christmas, and we hope you enjoy yourself." Mrs. Ethene said, greeting her happily.

"Thank you. It's good to meet you, too." Martha replied, embarrassed.

"Have you ever been on side-along apparition before Martha?" Mr. Ethene asked her gently.

"Yes, my mother takes me all the time." Martha replied softly.

"Okay, so you'll be used to it, then?"

"Yeah. Thank you for the concern, though." She said, grabbing Dean's hand and holding it tight. Dean held his mother's wrist and his father held onto Martha's left arm.

They were soon in a street that was lit by street lamps, but was deserted.

"The house is just over there," Dean said, pointing to a house they were in front of. From what Martha could see of it from the street lamps, it was large, white and had a huge number 68 in curly font attached to the front above the door. The front door, itself, was large and had decorated windows in it.

"It's beautiful." Martha said, her jaw dropping in awe.

Late that night, Dean had come into the room they were sharing for the holidays, carrying something clenched tight in his fist and looking cheeky, as though he'd just done something he shouldn't have.

"What did you do now, Dean?" Martha asked him in a whisper, sighing. He sat next to her, unclenching his fist. In his hand were several condoms.

"See, now your parents can't tell us off, because we'll be using protection. I'll be hiding some in the pocket of my school robes so I can take some to school, just in case we end up doing it at school." He whispered in reply. Martha looked at him and moved closer to him, kissing him passionately and he slowly took her pyjama top off her.

"Should we be doing this, Dean?" she asked him once he'd got them both completely naked.

"Who cares? Why not just throw caution to the wind? You do want to do it, don't you?" he murmured in reply, kissing her neck as he pushed her onto the bed.

"Of course, I'm just wondering about if we get caught." She said, gasping slightly.

"Did you magically lock the door after I came in?" he asked her.

"Yes. Did you put a condom on?" she asked him softly, brushing his hair back from his eyes and putting it behind his ear, kissing him.

"Yes. Not that I'm fertile yet, anyway." He replied, shrugging.

"Dean, it doesn't matter if you're fertile yet or not. It matters that we protect ourselves, just in case you become fertile without realising it." She replied, gasping loudly as he started kissing her collar bone.

Both Martha and Dean woke early the next morning and Dean pulled Martha close, kissing her deeply.

"I still can't believe we did that last night." Martha whispered, gasping very slightly as Dean pulled her onto him so they were facing each other. "Dean, we shouldn't do that. Will you please stop trying to have sex with me? We already did it last night; I don't want to do it this morning as well." She said, getting off her boyfriend and sitting up, drawing the blanket up so it covered her chest.

"Sorry Martha, I just lost control of myself this morning. Last night, we both did it and made sure it was protected. This morning was different." He apologised, hugging her tenderly. "But I still love you. I love you more than anything on this earth."

"You know you don't have to pretend. I already know you love me, and that's enough. You don't have to pretend that you love me more than anything." She said, kissing him tenderly.

"But I really do Martha. I love you more than anything." He replied, smiling.

"There's got to be _something_ that you love more than me, and its okay if there is." She said but he sighed.

"No there isn't Martha. I love you more than anything." He said.

"Okay then. Merry Christmas by the way." She said and he kissed her.

"Merry Christmas Martha." He whispered and she laughed softly, hugging him tightly. Martha looked into his eyes and sighed. She was starting to feel as though sex was a good idea, after all. He looked at her, kissing her passionately. When he moved his lips to her throat, she gasped slightly.

"Dean, if we're going to do that, put a condom on, just in case." She whispered and he pulled away briefly, grumbling slightly as he did so. "Are you done?" she asked him and in reply he went back to kissing her throat and he pushed her gently back into a lying position, getting on top of her.

They eventually parted, breathing heavily. Martha looked quickly at the clock on the wall, realising that it was nine-thirty that morning.

"Dean, we've been going for about two and a half hours. We'd better go to breakfast, before your parents come looking for us." Martha said and he nodded as they got up and got dressed. Leaving the room, they walked down the hallway before turning left and continuing on until the end, before turning left two more times and into the dining room, where they saw Mr. and Mrs. Ethene sitting at the table with Dean's elder sister, Tanya, sitting at the table next to her father.

"Good morning, sleepy heads, and Merry Christmas!" Tanya said happily, greeting Martha. Martha and Dean sat down at the table, Martha next to Tanya.

"Merry Christmas all!" Dean said happily, addressing his entire family.

"Merry Christmas, you two. Dean, we've already told your sister this, but your grandparents from both sides will be coming over for Christmas dinner, along with your aunt, uncle and cousins. They'll be arriving around three this afternoon, I expect." Mr. Ethene explained to his son as they all ate.

"Okay, thanks Dad. Martha, this will be your opportunity to meet my extended family in their best spirits." He laughed in reply.

"Dean, please act your age and not your shoe size, just for once." Tanya told her brother, sighing disapprovingly. "Especially if you have your girlfriend over."

"Just because you don't have a boyfriend, Tanya." Dean retorted.

"Shut up! Anyway, I'm proud of being single, so you can't bag me about it!" she said and Dean rolled his eyes.

"Sure you are," he muttered. "That's why you're so defensive when I remind you that you're single."

"Dean, I heard that!" she shouted, picking up her plate and storming into the kitchen, slamming the door behind her.

"Dean, you know you shouldn't aggravate your sister. She is of that age where she's a little more snappy than normal." Mrs. Ethene told her son sternly.

"Yes Mum. I know." He groaned, sighing deeply. "I'll go apologise to her after breakfast."

"Thank you. By the way Martha, a couple of packages arrived for you this morning from your mother. We've put them under the Christmas tree so you can open them when the family opens their presents." Mrs. Ethene said, smiling at Martha.

"Thank you Mrs. Ethene." Martha said, smiling shyly.

At about three o'clock that afternoon, a knock was heard and Mrs. Ethene rushed to get it, while the rest waited patiently in the lounge room. Mrs. Ethene opened the front door and four older people and a middle-aged couple walked in, a toddler holding the woman's hand and three other young children following their parents into the house.

"Hello all and Merry Christmas!" Dean said happily, greeting his respective family members.

"Hello Dean, my boy!" one of the older men said, scruffing his grandson's hair in an affectionate manner.

"My, how you've grown, Dean!" one of the older women observed, hugging him.

"Oh yeah, everyone, I'd like you to meet my girlfriend, Martha." Dean said, introducing Martha to his relatives.

"Pleased to meet you Martha!" Dean's maternal grandmother said, adjusting her glasses to get a better look at Martha.

"Dean seems to get good looking friends all the time, doesn't he?" his paternal grandmother asked the remainder of his relatives.

"Yes, he does, doesn't he? He's lucky. Being the youngest in the family and all. I wonder if Tanya has a boyfriend yet?" Dean's maternal grandfather replied but Tanya shook her head, shooting a dirty look at her brother.

"Well, Tanya, my girl, you'd better get a move on or all the good ones will be taken." Grandmother Ethene told her, laughing.

Christmas dinner was a noisy affair, with the whole Ethene family talking excitedly to each other, and Martha didn't get to escape from the conversation either; she was called upon regularly to give her opinion and tell them all about where she'd come from and what her family was like, etc. She answered all questions truthfully – except the part about her father – and quite enjoyed herself that evening.

When it came to bed time that night, she farewelled Dean's family and went to the bedroom Dean's parents had allowed them to share during the Christmas holidays. In the bedroom, she got changed into her pyjamas and got into bed, awaiting Dean, who appeared shortly afterward, getting into his pyjamas and also getting into bed, kissing her before she turned over and he moved closer to her, cuddling her from behind. He laughed softly before falling asleep.


End file.
